Although water, sunlight, aging, and detergents are useful in certain decontamination activities, these mild reagents are slow to react, do an incomplete job of decontamination, form very stable toxic products (e.g., EA 2192 or N-oxides in the case of VX, or polythiols or thiodiglycol in the case of HD), and can spread toxic chemicals around the cleanup area and cause them to move to other sites such as protective garments, absorbed into materials, onto floors, into sewers, and transported to waste water treatment facilities.
Currently used decontamination reagents include chlorine-based chemicals (e.g., bleach, chlorine dioxide, and high test hypochlorite (HTH)) and caustic chelating amines (e.g., DS2). DF-200, a proprietary blend of organic and inorganic materials developed at Sandia Corporation, is also a current decontamination reagent (Tadros, Maher E. and Mark D. Tucker, Mark D., “Formulations for Neutralization of Chemical and Biological Toxants,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,566,574 (2003).). See also U.S. Pat. No. 6,723,890 to Tadros et al. The patents disclose several formulations for neutralizing chemical or biological toxicants. The patents and other publications cited therein provide further background of the state of the art.